Each year for the past several years, the city has distributed up to 1,100 notices. While most violators take care of the problem, Jimenez said that for about a quarter of the cases, owners do not come into compliance. When this happens, the city contracts for the property to be mowed. He said the cost for contracted mowing is usually $40, a fee that is billed to the property owner.

“Something unique about the grass code is that violations never go to court,” Jimenez said. “Violators are billed instead.”

Mark Lehmann, owner of Vintage Management, is one of the property owners who’s been warned in the past. He said past violations he’s received usually concern tenants in single-family houses who don’t mow.

He said when tenants fail to keep their yard up to code, the company will mow the yards but charge the tenant for the service.

Repeat offenders are common. According to the code, property owners are only given a first-time notice. That means for subsequent violations, instead of issuing a warning, the city will charge the owner for another contracted mowing service.

“We may mow the same property three or four times a year,” Jimenez said.

Lawns can grow out of control for a number of reasons, ranging from broken mowers to property foreclosures. However, the desire for lawns to be aesthetically pleasing makes the code a hard one to overlook.

“It’s a regulation that is easily seen by people, so people are very likely to report it,” Jimenez said.

Besides aesthetic motivation, rodent infestations, blight, health concerns and fire hazards are other reasons that make the code necessary.